Hinata's dream
by Romez
Summary: A park bench is where it all began. One-shot. NaruHina.


**It's been a while since I've done a NaruHina one-shot. I hope it goes well. Btw, THIS is I hope they end up together.**

**XxXxXxXx**

It was a nice night out. It was cool with a light breeze blowing by. It made Hinata's uneasy heart feel more relaxed. She walked, finding a park bench and sitting on it. She wasn't one to sigh, but right now she did. She looked at the forest she was facing, hearing the soft murmur of the rustling trees.

It'd been 2 years since her confession to Naruto. After the fight had been over, she'd hoped Naruto would've come by to talk to her. He never did. Instead, he was immediately sent out on other missions. Dangerous missions from what she'd heard. That'd sent her heart tumbling, not just at the fact that she wouldn't get a response again, but at the fact that he might never end up coming back.

She looked at the bracelet Kiba had given her. It was a rubber material in the shape of a footprint. She smiled at a little. Then that smile left. She appreciated the sentiment even though she couldn't return said feelings. Kiba had gotten a little upset over that. She knew he'd been mad when he told her that Naruto would probably never return her feelings, especially after all these years; but that didn't make it possibly any less true. For all she knew, Naruto would NEVER return her feelings.

She put a hand to her heart. The mere thought sent her into turmoil. No, Naruto wasn't like that. He would never leave anyone hanging like that. So she held on, despite the wishes of everyone of her friends telling her to drop him and her feelings for Naruto. She found herself thinking back to the entrance exam, the first time Naruto had said something nice to her.

Tears left her eyes. Doubt suddenly filled her. Maybe they were all right. Unlike her shortcomings and lack of self-confidence, her love for Naruto had never wavered until tonight. Now she found herself in the arms of sorrow, wishing that he were here right now. Maybe he would comfort her.

And so he did. "Are you alright Hinata?"

Hinata violently gasped. She felt another breeze blow by, a stronger one and taking some of her tears with it. She calmed herself down. Maybe she was hallucinating again. Wouldn't have been the first time she'd thought of Naruto this vividly. She looked up.

No, she wasn't hallucinating. She could smell the ramen on him. "N-Naruto-kun?" She stammered as her mind reeled from both having the doubt reap havoc on her mind and the sudden surprise of having the object of said chaos right in front of her.

"Everything alright?" He asked, knowing full well that she'd just been crying.

Hinata hushed, trying desperately to reel in her words. She wanted to ask why he had never come to visit. She wanted to tell him how this long wait made her feel. She wanted to tell him the desperation she would feel when he departed, fearing he would die and she would never get an answer.

She wanted to. Instead she smiled, "Yes. Just thinking." The two shared a look, and as Hinata realized what she was doing, her cheeks became visibly more rosy with each second that ticked by.

"Mind if I think with you?" He asked. Though he noticed the red tinge her cheeks had taken, he thought nothing of it. He was too preoccupied with something else on his mind.

"S-Sure." She scooted over, heart hammering away. She calmed herself down by doing the same gesture that always calmed her down before. She twiddled her fingers. She even had a little song for what she did: Up and over, through and through, down and under, then it's done. She would repeat that until she was sufficiently calmed down.

This was not happening tonight, however.

Naruto, upon sitting down, accidentally bumped elbows with the shy Hyuuga. Hinata's whole face turned red immediately, her only reprieve was the cool night air that blew across her face. At the very least, she hadn't fainted. She at least had that much willpower. She even went as far as to berate herself. She had managed to get her shyness under control to the point where her father had finally deemed her worthy enough to take over as the Hyuuga Heir.

Yet, despite this, Naruto still managed to degrade her barriers to the point where she was at a younger age. Funny what love could make you do.

"Man, it sure is nice outside." Naruto idly commented, his whiskery face forming into a grin. "I wish I could stay like this forever."

"Me too." Hinata softly added.

"Hm? You say something Hinata?" Naruto hadn't heard Hinata's words and leaned in towards her to better hear.

Hinata's heart pounded desperately. "A-Ah, I said me too! The weather is nice!" She twiddled her fingers faster, as if trying to unwind the tension that was coiling inside of her.

Naruto couldn't help but grin a little wider. "You really are weird."

Hinata didn't take this as in insult. Naruto never insulted his friends, and she knew she was at least friends with him. So she accepted it. "I guess I am."

Naruto actually seemed to go into a deep thought. "You know, I remember you used to get all sad when I said that. You didn't this time." And whether it was the moon that seemed to silhouette his face, or something about his genuine smile, his eyes seemed to shine brightly to Hinata, "I'm glad, because I like you weird."

Oh, those words had nearly been too much for Hinata's ever-loving heart to bear. Luckily, said heart didn't explode into a gooey mess inside of her. Yet.

"Ah..." Her face veered away from his as she looked at her twiddling thumbs. "T-Thank you."

"No sweat." Naruto replied. If it hadn't been for the cool air, Hinata probably _would've_ been sweating. Profusely at that. At least that's what she thought although considering it was just her and Naruto all alone, thoughts themselves were becoming increasingly hard to form.

Surprisingly, Hinata got up the courage to start up the next conversation between them. It must've been the adrenaline flowing through her veins. "S-So I hear that you're going to g-get promoted to Hokage?"

Naruto actually let out a rather uproarious laugh. "Yeah. Kakashi-sensei was being mean to me saying that I was the only person to reach Hokage while still having the rank of Genin."

Hinata's eyes widened at this. "After all this, you're still considered a Genin?"

Naruto shrugged. "Something about missed paperwork or something like that. Baa-san tried to at least get me to Jounin, but it didn't work." Naruto scratched his head. "But I don't really care. I'm going to be Hokage!" He pumped his fist into the air. "How sweet is that Hinata?"

Hinata shyly smiled. "Very sweet Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded vigorously, adding a "ttebayo" to emphasize. Hinata actually giggled at this. She found it funny that after all these years, he hadn't lost that catch phrase of his.

Naruto, on other hand, was rather amazed by her giggle. Her tone had been sweet and it played softly against his ear, like silk. He found himself staring at the Hyuuga a little while longer than he had intended.

All of a sudden, his reason as to why he had followed her here came back.

"Say, Hinata." The girls' head turned towards the whiskered boy. She heard a strange tone that she'd never heard from him. It was somber and serious, something that didn't fit at all with this energetic and orange-loving boy.

"What is it Naruto-kun?" She leaned towards him, her body unconsciously responding to his seriousness with concern. Womanly concern. And from what Naruto knew about Hinata, she was definitely all woman. He hadn't been completely blind all these years.

Naruto crossed his arms and took a pose of serious thinking. Though to anyone else, it looked more like he was pouting than anything else. No one really associated him as a deep thinker.

"Do you remember..." He paused. While her pupiless eyes might've scared some people, right now they had an ethereal beauty in them, making the hyperactive boy pause for a second in admiration. "...When you confessed to me a couple of years ago?"

The reaction wasn't entirely immediate. Hinata's brain had shut down for a second.

_Hinata's mind_

_*Applying settings*_

_*Normal Startup?* *Yes*_

_*Choose to believe that this was actually happening?* *Yes*_

_*Pinch yourself?* *No*_

_*Pinch Naruto to check one more time if this is a hallucination?* *No*_

_*Loading... Complete*_

"I... remember... Naruto-kun." Hinata wasn't entirely sure she was hearing what she was hearing. Many had tried talking her out of her love for Naruto. It became especially hard to hold on to when, after all these years, Kiba had confessed his love to her. It had come to her as a shock, mainly because she did not only seem him as a friend, but as a brother. A brother who had helped her in her time of need. For a while, more recently before Naruto's return, she had wondered if maybe she should give up the blonde. Kiba had been kind, if a bit fiery. He had a similar personality to Naruto. She had even though that maybe, he could've been Naruto's replacement.

But then she had decided against it. That wouldn't have been fair. No one could take Kiba's place in the same way no one could take Naruto's place. They may have similar traits, but they were entirely different people with different experience.

For now, she held on to hope that this conversation would finally provide closure... one way or another.

"Yeah, kinda hard to forget right?" He grinned. "I mean, you almost died trying to save me." His smile and the light in his eyes faded a little, something that almost rendered Hinata's heart in half.

"And I would do it again." She added in without hesitation. Despite her rapidly beating heart, she wanted him to know that this was the extent of her love for him.

Naruto blinked, not used to Hinata being so forthcoming. Despite this, his energy seemed to have come back to him. "Thanks."

Once the moment was over, Hinata's mind slowed down enough to analyze what she'd done. She leaned back a little, stammering a, "N-No problem."

A silence hung between them briefly before Naruto spoke up again. He sighed softly as he did so, letting a breeze pass by them. His whiskers seemed to droop slightly as he took on a pensive look.

"Before Jiraiya died. He told me about his first love." Hinata's nervousness died down as her mind tuned in to his words. "He said that he would've given anything and everything to be with her. To be married to her. To raise a family and have kids." Naruto smiled, but it held no mirth. Only sad nostalgia filled it. "But she was in love with another man. Despite all of his tries and failed attempts, he could never get her to stop feeling love for this other man. But he never gave up. Never since they first met when they were Genins."

Naruto looked up. His face told of some pain that he was familiar with and it held more meaning than just a simple lesson between teacher and student. "He told me if you don't succeed the first 1,000 times, try 10,000. If 10,000 don't work, try 100,000." Naruto chuckled a little, knowing what that was like. "Even though he went to those bars and... places... I don't think he ever touched another woman. He simply never found another woman he could really love."

He turned to Hinata and something inside her churned. Everyone fully knew who Naruto loved. Especially Hinata. That's why the words he said next were the hardest she'd ever heard in her life. "Hinata... I still love Sakura. I always have. She was my first love and I would do anything to be with her."

For a brief moment, Hinata's heart fell into a hole. A hole that was so dark and vast that she would never be able to find her heart again. She didn't cry because she felt frozen. Frozen at the thought that after all these years, Naruto would come back only to deny her feelings. Her voice would not leave with the question that was on her tongue. Why? She wanted to ask this question so badly. But she couldn't.

Naruto turned away upon seeing those pale and soft eyes begin to express her deep sadness. "Well, I wouldn't say he never touched them. There were a few girls that actually liked him for who he was. So he would always take some on a date if they asked, one girl he even dated a few times. He didn't end up loving them though, but they left happy and with a clear heart." He chuckled as he told this next bit, "He would tell me that despite loving Baa-san, it was wrong to make a girl sad by saying no. He told me that I should _never_ say no without going on a date first. I... don't want to make you sad Hinata."

Hinata's falling heart had stopped its descent. Her mind was turning the gears as quickly as she could. If she was hearing this correctly... Naruto had said that he loved Sakura, but maybe, just maybe, if he took her on a date that she might change his mind? No... that she might change his heart?

Naruto continued, not noticing the light return to Hinata's eyes. At this point, it was Naruto's turn to actually get nervous. He closed his eyes, rubbing the back of his head in preparation for what he was about to say.

"So... since I don't want to leave any ifs behind... do you... kind of... want go out with me... still?" It took him a second longer to summon even more courage to turn his head and meet Hinata's gaze.

His blue eyes were filled with shock when Hinata began to cry. Naruto panicked, not really foreseeing this outcome. Then again, he hadn't actually foreseen much since he hadn't thought that far ahead. "A-A-Ah, Hinata!" Naruto stammered as he raised his hands in the air to try and place them on her shoulders, but with all the heavy weeping she was doing her shoulders weren't standing still. To an onlooker, it almost looked like he was trying to do charades and was being so terrible at it that it made someone cry.

"I'm... s-so happy." Hinata managed to say through sobs. Naruto's panic lessened, though he was still trying to figure out what to do. "A-All these years... I thought you simply forgot. I waited for s-so long, hoping that it w-wasn't just a dream." She hiccupped as her jacket caught some of the tears that were shed. She furiously rubbed her tears away with her hand, but simply ended up squeezing more out of her eyes.

Naruto didn't know what to do other than to let her cry. Eventually she did stop. They sat on opposite sides of the bench, facing each other. The small area between them held a small puddle of tears which made Naruto feel immensely guilty. "I'm sorry I made you wait for so long Hinata." Naruto felt crestfallen at making Hinata cry. Jiraiya's number one rule had been that if you made a girl cry, you should kill yourself.

"N-No Naruto-kun." She sniffled as she wiped away the last of her tears. Her eyes revealed nothing but joy and warm love as she looked up at him. "It's alright. E-Even though you still love Sakura... I want to thank you f-for giving me a chance."

This didn't assuage Naruto's guilt. "Giving you a chance..." Naruto sighed. "That seems so... wrong. You deserve more."

For the first time ever, Hinata had summed up enough courage to cup Naruto's face and make him look into her eyes. "Naruto-kun. Do I look unhappy right now?"

Aside from a few tears that still lingered on her cheek, her eyes seemed to be clearer than they were ever were. Had they always been so bright?

"No..." He hesitated a moment, not sure where she was going with this.

"Then you shouldn't feel guilty because, Naruto-kun... I'll make you happy." Her words came out with a strong and gentle resolve befitting of her. And as he felt a strange warmth rise within him, he began to honestly believe that she could.

They stared deeply into each other's eyes. Naruto didn't know a thing about Hinata. All he knew was that she was this weird, kind, and strong girl. As he continued to gaze, something within him told him that he would come to know a great deal more about this girl.

"Ttebayo, then let's go out!" He stood up, feeling rejuvenated by the fact that Hinata wasn't sad, but happy instead.

Hinata took on a look of surprise. "N-Now Naruto-kun? It's so late!"

Naruto grinned like a fox. "Ichiraku's ramen is NEVER closed!" He paused. "Well, for the moment. Everyone was actually celebrating me becoming a Hokage. Didn't you get a letter?"

Hinata's lips formed into a circle. "Oh. I h-haven't been home all day."

Naruto rubbed his chin. "That makes sense." He turned away from his musings to look at the girl before him once more. His heart still yearned for Sakura, after all, how does one simply forget their first love? But with each second she filled his gaze, he felt like he would eventually find out the answer.

He extended a hand to her to which she slowly accepted. She rose to her feet, feeling like she was walking through a dream. She felt weightless. All her worries had vanished, her feelings were finally out in the open, she was no longer a failure. Everything was finally looking up for her.

In response to this, her brain shut down.

*Dreams... complete.*

*Goals... complete.*

*Unrequited love to requited love... complete*

*Performing system update... complete restart needed*

*Pass out. Re-booting in 12 minutes*

"H-Hinata?" Naruto panicked as the girl fainted in his arms. Her jacket zipper had unzipped itself by accident as she folded over backwards away from Naruto, his arms being wrapped around her back. This revealed the fishnet underneath and while his head was blocking the light, he could still make out the faint outlines of her breasts.

"NaruTOOOOO!" That familiar voice, despite coming from the person he said he loved, made his entire body cringe with fear. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing to Hinata!"

Kiba and Akamaru both bared their fangs. "If you did anything to her I'll rip your throat out!" Akamaru agreed with a rather monstrous bark.

"B-But I...!" He stammered as he continued holding Hinata.

"Naruto." A deep, creepy voice sounded beside him. Then he heard buzzing. "I must admit, if you do harm my teammate, you will pay."

"Y-You too Shino?" Naruto all but yelled.

"Oh ho, very nice. I approve Naruto." The Cyclops known as Kakashi grinned, though you could only tell with his upturned eye.

Naruto could only scream, "This isn't what it looks like!" Before Sakura's punch connected with his face.

And so began the life of Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Hinata.


End file.
